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Soar: Issue 11, April 2023

British Columbia

We’ve had a busy few months since the New Year and several committees are busy planning events this spring!

Cowichan Valley Pas-Ta-Night
The Cowichan Valley committee hosted their first in-person event in three years at the Cook and Butcher in Cowichan Bay on March 4th. The committee’s goal was to re-engage the local community with a smaller event to get them excited for their traditional fall banquet. Congratulations to the committee for achieving their goal!

Kamloops Sportsman Bash
It was around this time three years ago that the Kamloops committee was about to host their 5th annual Sportsman Bash when suddenly everything changed due to Covid. Little did they know it would take years before they could finally host their 5th annual. The committee is looking forward to reconnecting with our DUC supporters and bringing them another fun, high energy, raffle-filled afternoon at the Fox n’ Hounds Pub on April 1st.

Comox Valley Banquet
The Comox Valley spring banquet is in full planning mode. The committee is very excited to be back hosting their annual fundraising event at the Florence Filberg Centre in Courtenay on April 15th. The community support for this event has been incredible, and the committee is looking forward to welcoming everyone back!

Campbell River Banquet
An exciting banquet is being planned by the Campbell River committee for May 6th at the Maritime Heritage Centre in Campbell River. Tickets are selling fast, and the support from the local community has been incredible. The volunteers and supporters are eager to get back to having fun and supporting Ducks Unlimited Canada.

Vancouver Banquet
A new committee, a new banquet, and new memories in the making! Our Vancouver committee is hard at work planning their upcoming banquet at the Sage Restaurant on May 26, 2023. This fundraiser is sure to be new and exciting and will feature all the fun-filled raffles and auctions our DUC fundraisers are known for.

Thank you to all the volunteers for their hard work and dedication to planning their events.

Manda Hanson
Volunteer Fundraising and Corporate Coordinator

Alberta

Fun events are happening all around Alberta! Keep an eye on our upcoming events at ducks.ca/events.
I am very excited to help plan an event with our very new Calgary based Ladies Committee the “Bow Valley Pintails”. Their very first event happened on April 1st, but “don’t be fooled” as these ladies worked hard to make this a fun and educational evening at The Wild Rose Brewery!

Just in case you’ve missed the news…our Raffles are back in Alberta! Some restrictions are still in effect, but we can now run raffles up to $20,000. Please reach out to Elke for more information and to confirm we are staying within the guidelines.

Our popular Lethbridge College Banquet was held on February 3rd, 2023 and raised about $28,000.
This event sold over 170 tickets, and everyone had a fantastic time. Thank you to Kerry Edwards and the entire student committee!

Looking forward to our upcoming spring events in Fort Saskatchewan, Edmonton, Grimshaw and Calgary. Plus, other committees are busy planning their events as we speak!

Elke DuBois
Manager of Volunteer & Corporate Fundraising

Saskatchewan

Hello to all volunteers in Saskatchewan and Thank You for another successful year in 2022! We are very excited to get together this year with many of you in the coming weeks and months as we continue to raise money in Saskatchewan for wetland conservation.

Once again, we gathered in Saskatoon for the annual Volunteer Workshop and Appreciation Day at the Western Development Museum on February 11. It was great to see so many of you show up to be recognized by DUC and the Volunteer Provincial Council for your continued efforts in raising money for our cause.

I was very pleased to present volunteers with awards at the event for their years of service, but all of you are worthy of recognition for what you do.

Todd Holmquist received his 30-year decoy at the event, and he was joined by Rick Ochitwa who has served 25 years as a volunteer. Todd was a former employee with DUC and has always made time to serve as a volunteer at the Wynyard event and for various other initiatives. Rick accepted his 25-year decoy at the event for his service as a volunteer for the Sask Valley committee and other initiatives. George Pretli and Cal Robinson both received 15-year certificates for their service on the Spiritwood committee.

And of course, we can’t forget our Saskatchewan Volunteer of the Year, Vic Surjik, of the Yorkton committee. Vic was unable to attend the event on February 11 but was honored all the same. Thank you, Vic, for your many years of service and dedication to helping raise money for DUC. Vic has been instrumental in serving as chairperson for the local Yorkton spring event and has been very active in selling our annual firearms calendar. We wish Vic all the best and thank him for everything he does for the Ducks.

If you are looking at your calendar and want to attend an upcoming event or help sell tickets on a raffle, make note of the following:
April 28: Indian Head & District Banquet at Memorial Hall in Indian Head
May 5: Saskatoon Ladies Spring Sparkle “Spicy Fiesta” at the Western Development Museum

Wishin’ You Were Fishin’ Boat Raffle: Potential launch date of May 1 to May 17, 2024. This raffle will run for an entire year! You can request tickets to sell in your community and will also be provided to sell tickets at your local banquet as part of a smaller raffle in the room.

2024 Saskatchewan Firearms Calendar raffle: The calendars are slated to be in the hands of volunteers to sell by August 1. The same prizes are available again for the 5th installment of the calendar, 52 guns and 12 $1,000 cash prizes

Travis Behning
Manager of Volunteers & Corporate Fundraising

Manitoba

It is with Great Pleasure that we announce our winner for Volunteer of the Year 2022 Robyn Yates!
Robyn is the Chair of the very successful Selkirk, MB Chapter and helps at several other events around the province. Congratulations Robyn and thank you for your passionate support and commitment to Ducks Unlimited Canada and our fundraising efforts.

Thank you to all the volunteers and Chapters that supported our Conservation Calendar sales, it was another great success story for Manitoba.

Well Manitoba Merv seen his shadow this February out at Oak Hammock Marsh, so we are in for a few more weeks of winter yet. All this cold and snow hasn’t slowed down our volunteers and the spring fundraising events. Plans are well underway in Melita, W. Winnipeg, Teulon, Stonewall, Gilbert Plains, Selkirk, Dauphin, Brandon and the 2023 Ride to the Lake!

Looking forward to seeing you all at an event near you soon as we celebrate 85 years of conservation in Manitoba and across Canada.

Brad Porath
Manager of Volunteers & Corporate Fundraising

Ontario

Northern Ontario

Late Fall/Winter ended great for Volunteer Events in Northern Ontario and the Muskoka’s, thanks to all the Volunteers for their hard work!  A special “Shout Out!” to the Thunder Bay Committee who hosted one of their best dinners ever over the past dozen years, netting over $47,000! Spring is heating up with a full roster of events in the district and, we look forward to sharing their successes in the next edition of SOAR!

Some notable Volunteer Milestones achieved so far this year:  Gerry Landriault at 40 years.  Eleanor and Mike Gould both at 30 years.  Kim Wylie at 15 years, and Willow Lem celebrating her 10th year!

Provincially, the Winter season ended on a high-note in Ontario, with the 2023 Ontario Firearm Calendar selling out thanks to the spectacular efforts of our Ontario Volunteer Committees!  Keep watch for an early release this Spring of the 2024 Calendar.  Also of special note, thanks to the efforts of some dedicated Volunteers, is the rebirth of the Ontario Volunteer Council!  If you wish to participate in the Provincial Council, please contact us.

Robert Watson
Manager of Volunteers & Corporate Fundraising

South-central Ontario

What a great start to the first few months of 2023!

We kicked off the spring season in SW Ontario with an amazing event in Midland at the beginning of March. The hall was packed with some of the most energetic attendees I have seen in a long time, and the sponsors/donors made this a top-notch banquet. We are now jumping headfirst into the rest of the spring events and looking forward to seeing everyone once again. With warmer, spring weather on the horizon, we are excited to see new and familiar faces across the province.

Marco Cunha
Manager of Volunteers & Corporate Fundraising

Eastern Ontario & Quebec

Hello Eastern Ontario Volunteers,

With Spring just around the corner and the warmer weather finally upon us, volunteer committees are also “springing” and emerging (like the groundhogs) and have started planning their fundraising events for 2023.  Here in Eastern Ontario, the committees of Arnprior, Campbellford and Lakefield will be hosting their first in-person events since being forced into hiatus by the pandemic.  We are truly grateful for their return and adding to our 2023 event schedule. We are hoping that the 2022 Fall trend of successful events will continue into this coming spring and summer.  Regardless, with the effort and dedication these committees are putting forth, these “new” events are sure to be successful! 

The Carleton Place committee has recently reached out to us and looking at coming out of hiatus themselves.

The committees of Brockville and North Glengarry have confirmed events for later in the year and others will certainly follow!

A group of enthusiastic “potential” new volunteers gathered earlier this month to discuss re-establishing an Ottawa committee and hosting an event later in the year.  Great news indeed, stay tuned for developments.

In Quebec « La belle province », we are currently putting a lot of effort in volunteer recruitment.  Active volunteer numbers are low but there is as much potential in Quebec as any other province.

My recent recruitment efforts in the Abitibi-Témiscamingue region of Northern Quebec has generated a substantial lead. There is a very high probability that a fundraising event will be held in Rouyn-Noranda this summer.  This would come after close to 20 years of a DUC event in that city.  If successful in re-establishing this event, I’m hoping that this will be the catalyst to rebuilding the volunteer event network throughout the province.  Fingers are crossed! 😊

We are in the early stages of working on the 2023 edition of the Tour pour la Conservation (cycling event) in Montreal.  Event date has been proposed for this coming August.

The committee of Chateauguay-Suroît led by Sacha Haineault (2020 Volunteer of the Year in Quebec) are working towards hosting a clay shooting event this summer.

Lots to be proud of in Quebec and across Canada. Thank you to all the volunteers for your continued support!

Jean Joanette
Manager of Volunteers & Corporate Fundraising

Atlantic provinces

In Atlantic Canada we continue to see the return of many fantastic events, and I would like to send a big shout out, and thank you, to all the volunteer chapters that have hosted and are currently planning their events!

So far in 2023 we have had fantastic events in Moncton on February 23, Shelburne County on February 25 and the East Hants event on March 4.  A big congratulations to these chapters for hosting sold out events, they were amazing and a lot of fun!

In the coming weeks we have events set to roll with the Amherst, NS chapter’s event on May 5, the Lars Larsen Memorial event in New Brunswick on May 6, the Kent County, New Brunswick Committee on May 13, the Goose Bay committee’s event is planned for May 29 and the Sackville, NB committee’s event is all set in a new venue for June 10th.

We are so proud of Chris Fader the Hampton Committee Chair for receiving this $3000 cheque from Scotiabank for a sponsorship of their event this past year!

Thank you all so much for all you do to support DUC with these fantastic events.

Looking for some help!
We have a few volunteers in Gagetown that are looking to bring their event back but need some help and support, they are hoping to find a few people to help sell tickets!  If you are in the area and could help with ticket sale, please reach out to me at j_young@ducks.ca and I will connect you with the committee, this would be a great boost for New Brunswick!

I am looking for help finding a few new volunteers to join a group in St. John’s, Newfoundland, we have a few volunteers that would like to start up a new committee but need to get a few more on the committee to make it a reality. 

Fall events are confirming and we are setting up to have a busy fall and we truly appreciate all the effort and support that volunteers are putting forward, I am personally looking forward to seeing so many of you in 2023.

Thank you all!

Jamie Young
Manager of Volunteer & Corporate Fundraising